1326 - Situation

War continues with Byzantium. Bavaria declares war upon us and helps sink our fleet. Internationally, Poland and Lithuania have mixed results against the Teutonic Order. Bavaria takes Buda from Hungary. We ourselves fought three land battles, one major victory, two minor defeats. No provinces lost, one gained. Income increased by 146%. Present geostrategic position contains interesting possibilities.

Our liberation of Nicea had no opposition. Our amphibious horse archers in Miletus moved against Smyrna, but were eliminated following their narrow defeat by Byantine heavy cavalry riding from Byzantium itself. Our armies successfully repelled a Byzantine invasion of Trebizond, eradicating the invaders with few losses before returning to Edessa. Sadly, our fleet was sunk by a combined Bavarian / Byzantine navy, causing minor losses in return. Our only gamble almost payed off. Our Trebizond horse archers sadly died of wounds after pushing the Emporer’s cavalry out of Iconium.

Alliance was formed with the Teutonic Order. We are now allied to Kingdoms of Venice and Hungary, the Golden Horde, the Teutonic Order, and the Mamluke Sultanate. Khan Kilroy of the Horde is the most informative of correspondents.

The only immediate threat remains the Byzantine. Contrary to my expectations, he is concentrating his resources to build a large army in Tarsus. If it marches this turn, I could narrowly defeat it, but not the wave that would follow. One option is to gamble all and ride from Nicea, through Miletus, to Tarsus whilst simultaneously invading Iconium with everything else I can muster. My other option is to create options, capture scattered strongholds, lead him on a merry chase and hope for a miracle.

We can mount credible threats against Smyrna, Bythnia, Angora, Iconium, Jerusalem and the Eastern Desert. We can hold off invasion against any of our provinces. Sadly, we cannot do all these things at once.